Methods and systems for collaborative media creation

ABSTRACT

A collaboration server hosts software for collaborative composition and editing of a media project with project collaborators using different media editing applications each having their own native data format. Project collaborators, such as video editors, sound editors, effects and graphics artists, and producers access a shared project workspace which contains a snapshot of the current state of the media project in a canonical format, as well as source media files, native application metadata, and change notes. Each editing application includes a module enabling it to read the canonical snapshot representation, and also to flatten its native data model representation into the canonical representation for writing to the shared project workspace. A collaboration server hosts the shared project space, and includes a workflow manager for issuing change notifications and handling versions, and an application server for the shared project user interface. Change notes are generated manually and also expressed automatically in terms of machine-readable change primitives that serve to direct an editor&#39;s attention to portions of the media project needing attention.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and the benefit of, under 35 U.S.C.§ 120, and is a continuing application of pending U.S. application Ser.No. 13/623,156, filed Mar. 15, 2013, which claims priority to and thebenefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. provisional patent applicationSer. No. 61/623,156, filed Apr. 12, 2012, both of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The production of a film or video composition generally involves anumber of different participants, such as video editors, composers,audio editors, special effects and graphics artists, and producers. Inorder for a project to be completed in a time and cost efficient manner,the participants must be able to work together effectively. Yetcollaboration among production team members is often complex, notsecure, and cumbersome. For example, in order to share a bin or projectwith a collaborator, an editor must export media and sequences using aprocess that involves wrapping them up in a suitable container andtransferring them to another team member. This process can involveconversion of media from one format to another, a computationallyexpensive process that can cause loss of quality. Conversion is neededwhen media is being shared among participants using media editingapplications based on different media models. For example, when a videoeditor using a non-linear video editing application wishes to share adraft sequence with a sound editor using a digital audio workstation(DAW), the video editor needs to convert the sequence into a standardformat, such as QuickTime, a process which eliminates metadata specificto the editing application's data model. The eliminated metadata may nolonger be available for subsequent steps in the production process.Subsequently, when the sound editor adds a sound track to the receivedQuickTime sequence and exports it back to the video editor or to aproducer for review and approval, the export step involves convertingthe digital audio workstation's rich audio model into a standard formatin which metadata of the rich audio model is eliminated.

In addition, editors often use sharing services that were not designedfor the very large files that are used in professional media, withconsequent transfer delays and unforeseen exhaustion of resources, suchas the filling up of a local disc drive. Furthermore, communicationamong the team members during the various production phases is not wellsupported, which can lead to duplicative, wasted work, such as audioedits based on an already obsolete version of the video sequence.

There is a need for tools that support collaborative media production toaddress these problems.

SUMMARY

In general, the methods, systems, and computer program productsfacilitate collaboration among members of a media production team. Ashared project workspace is accessed by each of the team members. Theworkspace includes a snapshot of the current state of the media projectrepresented in a canonical data model that is readable by each of themedia creation/editing applications being used by the team members. Theshared project workspace also includes the source assets, including themedia essence files, a set of native application data files, one foreach of the media applications being used, and change notes thatdescribe recent edits. The change notes include manually enteredannotations of the changes as well as automatically generated,machine-readable change primitives. A workflow manager issues changenotifications, handles the shared workspace user interface, and supportsversioning and editing permissions. When an edit is performed, theapplication involved flattens the element of the media project for whichit is responsible into the canonical form and checks that into theshared space together with its native application data, any new sourceassets required, and change notes. Thus the shared project workspaceincludes rich media versions of the media project that include the fullmetadata for each of the media editing applications, enabling losslessresumption of editing by each of the contributing applications.

In general, in one aspect, a method of enabling collaborative editing ofa media project, comprises: providing storage for a shared media projectworkspace; enabling a first application for editing a first element ofthe media project to output to the storage: a canonical representationof a current state of the first element of the media project; metadatanative to the first application corresponding to the current state ofthe first element of the media project represented in a media data modelof the first application; and data describing an edit to the firstelement of the media project performed by a user of the firstapplication.

Various embodiments include one or more of the following features. Theuser of a second application for editing a second element of the mediaproject is able to: retrieve from the storage and play back thecanonical representation of the current state of the first element ofthe media project; and perform an edit on the second element of themedia project. The user of the second application for editing the secondelement of the media project is able to: retrieve from the storage thedata describing the edit to the first element of the media project, andthe edit performed by the user of the second application on the secondelement of the media project is based at least in part on the datadescribing the edit to the first element of the media project. The datadescribing the edit to the first element is expressed in terms of one ormore machine-readable change primitives. The machine-readable changeprimitives include one or more of the set consisting of a slip, a slide,a trim, a source swap-out, effect, and a time stretch. A module of thesecond application reads the one or more change primitives and providesinformation to the second application indicating a portion of the mediaproject associated with the edit to the first element. Enabling the userof the first application to lock at least a portion of the first elementof the media project, wherein a locked portion of the media project maybe edited only by the user of the first application. The portion isdefined as a layer of the media project or a span of the media project.If the first application outputs data to the storage, the datadescribing an edit performed by the user, issuing a notification of theedit to a plurality of media editing applications in data communicationwith the storage.

In general, in another aspect, a method for collaboratively editing amedia project, the method comprises: on a server in data communicationwith a plurality of media editing applications, providing storage for ashared media project workspace, wherein the shared media projectworkspace includes: a canonical representation of a current state of themedia project; for each of the plurality of media editing applications,a native application data file defining a current state of a element ofthe media project associated with that media editing application; anddata describing one or more edits performed by one or more users of theplurality of media editing applications. The shared media projectworkspace further includes media files containing source media uponwhich the media project is based. The shared media project workspacefurther includes data defining ownership of one or more portions of themedia project by one or more users of the plurality of media editingapplications. The plurality of media editing applications include anon-linear video editing application, a digital audio workstation, andat least one of the set consisting of a graphics and effects editingapplication, review and approval tools, and a media asset manager.

In general, in a further aspect, a computer program product comprises: acomputer-readable storage medium with computer program instructionsencoded thereon, wherein the computer program instructions, whenprocessed by a computer, instruct the computer to perform a method forcollaborative editing of a media project, the method comprising:providing storage for a shared media project workspace; enabling a firstapplication for editing a first element of the media project to outputto the storage: a canonical representation of a current state of thefirst element of the media project; metadata native to the firstapplication corresponding to the current state of the first element ofthe media project represented in a media data model of the firstapplication; and data describing an edit to the first element of themedia project performed by a user of the first application.

In general, in yet another aspect, a method comprises: at a systemhosting a media editing application with a display, wherein the systemis in data communication with a server hosting software forcollaborative media project editing, displaying a graphical userinterface for collaborative editing of a media project, the graphicaluser interface comprising: a representation of a current state of themedia project; a media player for playing back the media project; linksto source assets for the media project; links to native application datafor one or more media editing applications used to edit the mediaproject; and change notes entered by one or more editors collaboratingto edit the media project.

In various embodiments the server is in data communication with aplurality of different media editing applications, including thefirst-mentioned media editing application, and at least one of the linksto native application data and change notes are provided by one of theplurality of different applications other than the first-mentioned mediaediting application.

In general, in another aspect, a computer program product comprises: acomputer-readable medium with computer program instructions encodedthereon, wherein the computer program instructions, when processed by acomputer, instruct the computer to implement an adapter for a mediaediting application, wherein the adapter enables a user of a mediaediting application to edit a media project in collaboration with a userof another media editing application, the adapter comprising: an inputfor receiving native media and metadata from the media editingapplication; instructions for translating the native media and metadatainto a shared media project format; and an output for sending media inshared project media format to server hosting collaborative mediaproject editing software.

Various embodiments include one or more of the following features. Theadapter further receives change notes from the media editing applicationand sends the change notes to the server. The adapter further receiveslinks to source assets involved in the editing of the media project bythe user of the media editing application, and sends the links to thesource assets to the server.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram representing a shared project space for acollaborative media composition and editing system.

FIG. 2 illustrates the shared project space of FIG. 1 and the creationof an initial audio session and video sequence.

FIG. 3 illustrates the shared project space of FIG. 1 and the flatteningto the canonical data model and checking in of the initial videosequence.

FIG. 4 illustrates the shared project space of FIG. 1 and the retrievalof sources assets by the video editing system.

FIG. 5 illustrates the shared project space of FIG. 1 and the import ofthe shared snapshot of the project by the digital audio workstation.

FIG. 6 illustrates the shared project space of FIG. 1 and the flatteningto the canonical data model and checking in of the initial audiosession.

FIG. 7 illustrates the shared project space of FIG. 1 and the retrievalof the current state of the media project in the rich media form usingthe video editing system's data model as well as the canonical snapshotthat includes audio tracks generated using the digital audioworkstation.

FIG. 8 illustrates the shared project space of FIG. 1 and the checkingin of the video sequence together with the removal of audio tracksgenerated by the video editor.

FIG. 9 illustrates the shared project space of FIG. 1 with highlightingof a clip span designated to receive a special effect.

FIG. 10 illustrates the shared project space of FIG. 1 with import ofrequired data to the graphics and effects application.

FIG. 11 illustrates the shared project space of FIG. 1 and checking inof graphics and effects by the graphics and effects application.

FIG. 12 illustrates the shared project space of FIG. 1 and import by thevideo editor of the special effect applied to the highlighted clip.

FIG. 13 illustrates the shared project space of FIG. 1 with the additionof a second video editing system, and display of shared projectallocation to different users.

FIG. 14 illustrates the use of internal and external adapters foradapting media applications for operation with a shared project spacefor collaborative media editing.

FIG. 15 is a high level diagram of an architecture for implementing acollaborative media composition and editing system.

FIG. 16 is a diagram of a screen shot of an exemplary user interface fora collaborative media composition and editing system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As media projects become ever more complex, larger teams are beingdeployed to create a media product collaboratively. Larger teams notonly include more than one person working on the same or similar editingand compositional functions, but also a greater diversity of specialistssuch as audio engineers, special effects artists, finishing editors, andso on. The contribution to the project of each type of media element isoften created and/or edited with a different tool. For example, videoediting is performed with a non-linear video editing application, audioediting is performed with a digital audio workstation, and specialeffects with a special purpose effects creation tool. Each of theseapplications may have its own distinct way of representing the mediabeing worked upon, i.e., each may have their own, specific data model.But for collaboration to be effective, the contributions of each teammember need to be shared, and need to be contributed to the end product.

One way of achieving interoperability among team members usingapplications based on differing media data models is to create a largeand complex model that supports the superset of all the individual datamodels. Each individual media editing application is adapted to supportthis superset model. A disadvantage of this approach is that a projectthat is represented in this model includes a large amount of data andmetadata that may not be needed for any one application. The result isto increase the size of each project file, which quickly becomesunwieldy as the number of supported applications increases. Thisapproach also requires that the superset model be updated each timethere is any change to the model of each of the underlying applications.Not only is this labor-intensive, it also relies on each of the ownersof the supported applications providing access to the technical detailsof their models.

Another approach involves editing a project on each applicationserially, and using format conversions when passing a work in progressfrom one application to another. Such conversions may be computationallyexpensive, and are usually lossy, resulting in media degradation.

We describe an approach that enables collaborative media creation andediting without resorting to a superset data model. Instead, unificationamong applications and data models is achieved by standardizing projectsharing in a format based on a canonical subset of the data models.Collaborative workflows use a shared project space to share the currentstate of a project expressed in this standard data model, or standardformat, while retaining the rich assets associated with each of the datamodels of the individual applications.

During the process of collaborative creation of a media project, thecurrent state of a project is stored in a project space specificallydesignated for that project. The project space may be implemented bystorage hosted in the cloud, or on a server on a local area network thatconnects the clients that host the media composition/editingapplications. Each of the media composition and editing applicationsused by members of the project team communicates with the shared projectspace. Each project space includes a “canvas” that represents asnapshot, or version of the composition. The canvas snapshot is arendering of the current state of the composition using a standardizedformat based on a fixed subset of the data models of the individualmedia composition/editing applications. This format, referred to hereinas the Canvas format, is designed to be rich enough to adequatelyrepresent the current state of the media composition during thecomposition/editing phase, without supporting many of the specialfeatures of each of the individual applications. In order to enable allapplications to read media in Canvas format, each of the applicationsexposes metadata tags and descriptions using a common format.

In various embodiments, Canvas format uses the Material Exchange Format(MXF) container format for audio and video, supporting a variety ofvideo essence formats including DNxHD, or H.264 for proxies. Canvasformat also supports representation of the alpha channel. A rendering ofa project in Canvas format provides a framework to which new materialand changes can readily be added by any of the project collaborators,with the result playable using each of the applications.

In order to enable each project collaborator to view the current stateof a project, each of the media creation/editing applications includes aCanvas format player that can play back Canvas format media. The playeris able to read all the standardized metadata tags and descriptions.

In addition to the Canvas format snapshot of the current state of theproject, the shared project space also includes source assets that areexpected to be used in the project. Such assets may include originalessence files, such as video and audio files. Also included in theproject space are native application data files, which include metadatain formats native to the application that created the file. In variousembodiments, the native application data is stored as a binary AdvancedAuthoring Format (AAF) file. The native application data file includespointers to the source files (i.e., the essence), which, as mentionedabove, are also stored in the shared project workspace. In otherembodiments, the source files are stored locally on the systems thathost each of the applications, and shared in a peer-to-peer fashion asneeded, amongst the various applications.

Each of the various media editing and composition applications typicallyuse specific terminology to refer to a media work in progress, with itsvarious settings, compositional metadata, and references to sourcefiles. Furthermore, the structure of the data varies from application toapplication. For example, the non-linear video editor MEDIA COMPOSER®,from Avid® Technology, Inc., refers to a media work in progress as a“sequence;” and the data associated with each project includes settingsbin files, and clips with the sequence metadata including references tothe sources. The DAW application named PRO TOOLS®, also from AvidTechnology, refers to an audio work in progress as a “session.” Variousother applications refer to a media work in progress as a “project” or a“composition.” As used herein, the term “project” or “media project”refers to what is being created and/or edited collaboratively by a teamof contributors using a range of different media composition and editingtools. Thus at any stage during the collaborative process, a givenproject is represented in the shared project space both in a Canvasformat data model, and as a collection of native application data files,one for each of the contributing applications. Each of the applicationdata files represents the media project as last edited using thecorresponding application in a form that enables that application topick up losslessly from the last edit.

The shared project space also provides a method for enabling projectteam members to inform each other about changes they have made to theproject. When a change is made by a given application, change notes aregenerated manually and/or automatically, and posted to a folder in theshared project space containing change notes. A central workflowmanagement system sends out change notifications to the team members.The various functions performed by the central workflow manager aredescribed in more detail below.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a system flow for shared project space 102for a project in data communication with the following applications: DAW104, video editing application 106, graphics and effects application108, media asset manager 110, review and approval application 112, colorfinishing application 114, and dailies review and editing application116. Additional media applications may be incorporated into thecollaborative workflow. Example applications include: video applicationsfor 3D animation, motion stabilization, and other video “clean-up;”audio applications for editing video sound tracks such as music, dialog,and sound effects; and metadata-related applications such as for closedcaptioning and logging. The space includes canvas area 118 forpresenting a timeline representation of the Canvas format rendering, aswell as folders containing source assets 120, native application data122, and change notes 124. Source assets folder 120 may contain multiplefolders with assets corresponding to each of the applications that arebeing used, or expected to be used, to create and edit the project. Eachof the client systems hosting an application is in data communicationwith the shared project space. The various applications involved increating and editing a project may each be hosted on a separateplatform, or may share platforms with one or more of the otherapplications.

An example of a collaborative media composition/editing workflow usingthe described shared project space is shown in FIG. 2 and involvesshared project space 202, DAW 204, video editing application 206, mediaasset manager 208, and review and approval application 210. Thecollaborative creation and editing process begins with new local videosequence 212 created by a user of video editing system 206 and localaudio session 214 created at DAW 204. In the next step, illustrated inFIG. 3, the video editor shares a first “rough cut” version of thesequence, and a Canvas format version 216 is rendered and placed oncanvas space 218. In addition, video editing application 206 uploads anysource files that the project relies upon to source assets folder 220.It also checks in its native application data into native applicationfolder 222. Since this is the first version of the project to beuploaded, there may not be any notes describing project changes per seat this stage, though any notes the video editor wishes to communicateto other members of the project team may be checked in to change notesfolder 224. Similarly, the DAW editor adds the audio assets to thesource assets folder 220, native application data, as well as any notesto share with other team members, as indicated in FIG. 3. The Canvasformat rendering may be checked in to media asset manager 226 so that itcan be viewed by anyone with access to the system (FIG. 4). In order tocontinue editing the project with the benefit of an audio track, thevideo editor may download audio assets such as music clips from sourceassets folder 220, as indicated in FIG. 4. The user of DAW 204 may alsoview the canvas rendering using a Canvas format player plug-in, anddetermine which tracks, if any, to import (FIG. 5). In addition to audiotracks, video tracks may be imported to the DAW if the video is in aformat that can be manipulated by the DAW, such as AAF. The canvasrendering may be retrieved at this stage for review and approval by aproducer using review and approval application 228, as shown in FIG. 5.After working on one or more audio tracks, the DAW user may contribute anew version of the edited audio tracks, which are rendered in Canvasformat and labeled as A1(DAW) 230 and A2(DAW) 232 in FIG. 6. The priorversion of the audio tracks, which were contributed by the video editorare retained, and shown in the figure as A1(VE) 234 and A2(VE) 236. TheDAW user may also create one or more new tracks, e.g., A3(DAW) 238,which is also contributed to the canvas. As in previous steps, theupdated canvas is saved to the shared project workspace, from which itmay be forwarded to media asset manager 226. In addition, the DAW userchecks in updated native application data, any new source assetsrequired, and change notes (FIG. 6). When the video editor resumes workon the project, she becomes aware that two of the audio tracks, A1 andA2, are present in two versions, designated A1(VE), A1(DAW) and A2(VE),A2(DAW), and has the option to retrieve audio tracks A1(DAW) and A2(DAW)previously checked in by the audio editor (FIG. 7). If the video editingsystem does not retain the native application data from prior editing,or if a new system is used to host the video editing application, thevideo editor retrieves the native application data, sources assets, aswell as change notes. Using a Canvas format player plug-in to the videoediting system, the video editor retrieves the Canvas format renderingand plays back the audio tracks together with the video. If the videoeditor is satisfied with the audio editor's changes, she may decide toremove her audio tracks, A1(VE), A2(VE) from the canvas (FIG. 8).However, should the removed tracks be needed later, they may beretrieved from the media asset manager, which saves the history of theCanvas format renderings. The video editor next adds a place holder foran effect on the timeline that needs to be handled by a graphics andeffects application, such as AFTER EFFECTS® from Adobe® Systems, Inc.,of San Jose, Calif. Timeline region 240 that is to receive the effect isexposed in context on the canvas, as illustrated in FIG. 9 by the shadedportion of video track V2 242 in the timeline. An effects editor usingeffects and graphics application 244 accesses the Canvas format projectand inputs clip graphics media 246 upon which the effect is to becreated, drawing upon source assets as well as the Canvas formatrendering (FIG. 10). After creating an effect with the input media, theeffects editor updates the canvas sequence with the effect and adds theoutput of the effect in the Canvas format as well as checking in any newsource assets required for the effect, native application data in theformat native to the graphics and effects application, and change notes(FIG. 11). The new version is recorded in the media asset manager. Thevideo editor may now import data from the effect and graphicsapplication (FIG. 12). If a single editor is performing both the videoediting and the graphics and effects editing, the editor may be able tocall the effects application from within the video editing system. Inthis situation, the new application data, source assets, and changenotes are still checked in to the canvas so as to expose thegraphics/effects data for other team members who need to be able to viewthe current state of the project.

As mentioned above, color finishing may be included in the collaborativemedia creation and editing workflow, in which case color finishingapplication 114 is also connected to shared project space 102 (FIG. 1).In a manner analogous to that described above for the otherapplications, a color finisher accesses the Canvas format rendering,source assets, and change notes, and performs the color finishing usingthe Canvas format to view the results. After the edits have beenperformed, the color finisher checks in a Canvas format rendering of theresult, as well as its source assets if it has any, its native colorfinishing application data, and any change notes that are needed. Anexample of a color finishing source asset is a look-up-table that isapplied to change the aesthetic properties of the video. Similarly, whendailies are being produced during shooting of a feature film, episodicTV program, or another type of project, an assistant editor uses aconnected dailies review and preparation application to introduceoriginal camera footage into the production environment in a formsuitable for editing. The assistant editor then renders the result outto Canvas format and checks it into the shared project space on thecollaboration server, together with source assets, native applicationdata, and change notes.

In a collaborative environment in which there is a division of labor, itis necessary to prevent more than one person from working on a givenpart of the project at the same time. This is implemented by apermissions scheme, in which each user, or group of users, owns a partof project as represented in the canvas data model. Ownership may beassigned by layers by media type, with the video layers being owned byone or more video editors, and audio layers by one or more audioeditors. Ownership may also be assigned by spans, such as when agraphics/effects artist assigned to work on a span within a track, asillustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11. The shared project workflow managerdisplays the current ownership status of the elements of the model onthe canvas, informing users of the elements to which they havepermission to change, and areas that are locked for them. Thepermissions may be assigned in a centralized fashion by a single projectmanager, or may be assigned upon request by each of the participatingteam members. Once assigned, each collaborator maintains her assignedportion of the project. FIG. 13 illustrates a method of representing theownership of the various elements of the project, including an exampleof assigning two different spans 1302 and 1304 to two different videoeditors. In a typical permission scheme, the parts of the sequence ownedby each user do not overlap. This makes it straightforward to mergechanges from other team members.

The rendering of the various elements of the project in Canvas format isperformed by Canvas adapter software that is aware of the Canvas formatproject snapshot. Such awareness includes managing information thatspecifies the portion of the project that is currently owned by aparticular application, as defined by temporal spans of one or moretracks and/or metadata of the project. In the example shown in FIG. 13,Canvas adapter software running on video editing application 1306 limitsthe user to portion 1302 of the project, and when that user's work isready to be checked back in, it renders the newly edited video andinserts it into the Canvas format project. Canvas adapter softwareincludes a renderer that renders the native format media of a particularmedia application and renders it out in Canvas format.

For “Canvas aware” applications, the Canvas adapter software is includedwithin the application software, as illustrated with Canvas adapters1402, 1404, and 1406 incorporated into DAW 1408, video editingapplication 1410, and review and approval application 1412 respectivelyin FIG. 14. In a Canvas aware application, a user is able to issue asingle “update Canvas” command, and the adapter performs the rendering,manages the metadata transfer, and exports the Canvas format version tothe shared project space in the collaboration server. For applicationsthat are not Canvas aware, a separate Canvas adapter software module isrequired to perform the rendering and metadata management, as indicatedwith Canvas adapter 1414 for non-Canvas-aware graphics and effectsapplication 1416.

The use of the Canvas format snapshot that is standardized among allmedia editing applications also greatly streamlines media and productionasset management systems. These systems need only include a singleCanvas format player in order to allow media browsing across all nativeformats. Similarly, the ability to view stock footage is alsoenhanced—all applications are now able to share the same catalogs.

In order to facilitate collaborative workflows through the variousphases of producing a media project, the shared project workflow managersupports a change notification scheme. As indicated above, each time ateam member makes a change, a set of change notes are checked into theshared project workspace. The change notes are in two forms: manuallyentered text that is entered by the user of the application making thechange; and automatically generated, machine-readable change primitives.When a team member starts editing the project, the change notes areretrieved, along with the native application data, if available, and anyrequired source assets. The manually entered text provides the teammember with information about the most recent edit or the editsperformed since the team member last checked in her element. Thisenables her to determine whether the change affects her and needs to beaddressed, or whether it has no bearing on her contribution to theproject. For example, if an audio editor sees that the latest changeinvolved shortening the duration of a video clip for which she maintainsthe corresponding audio track, she knows that the audio will probablyneed to be changed as well. However, if the most recent change was acolor correction, the change probably does not implicate the audio atall, and she can ignore the change.

The automatically generated change notes are created automatically bycomparing the new version with the previous version. A difference toolexpresses the changes in terms of a set of standard change primitivesthat are able to capture a majority of the changes that can be made.Examples of common video edits that are expressed in terms of changeprimitives include, but are not limited to: slip, slide, trim, sourceswap-out, effect, and time stretch. Each of the contributingapplications includes a software module that is able to express themajority of the edits in terms of such change primitives, and exportthem in a standardized fashion to the shared project workspace. When ateam member using a different application retrieves the change notes,her application uses a change primitive input module to interpret theautomatically generated change notes. The application is then able tomake use of the change information to guide the team member, both as towhether the change is likely to have an impact on the project portionfor which the member is responsible, and also to direct the user'sattention to the track, clip, span, or other specific portion of orlocation within the project that was changed and that requiresattention. Using the example referred to above in which a video editorhas checked into the shared project space a version that includes achanged duration of a clip, the audio editor receives a changenotification and retrieves the change notes, along with the currentCanvas format snapshot. The audio editor's DAW, upon interpreting thechange note, directs the editor's attention to the temporal locationcorresponding to the latest clip duration edit. If several edits weremade, the audio editing application directs the audio editor's attentionto each of the locations that have been changed. This guidance greatlyspeeds up the task of conforming the different layers of a project toeach other.

An architecture for implementing the collaborative media projectcreation and editing methods described herein is illustrated in FIG. 15.Collaboration server 1502 is implemented using a computer system that iseither local to the application, such as on a local area network, or ishosted over a wide area network. The collaboration server may beimplemented using one or more servers hosted in the cloud. Workflowmanager 1504 coordinates and issues notifications, performs versioning,manages the permissions, and serves as the application server for theshared project space user interface. Shared project data manager 1506holds the relationships among elements in the canvas, together with thenative application data. Media storage 1508 holds the source media filesincluded in the project, or that might be needed in the project. Thevarious applications used by the project team collaborators are in datacommunication with the collaboration server, either over a local areanetwork, or over a wide are network. In various embodiments, thecollaboration server is hosted by the same system that hosts one of theapplications.

In the case where two content creators are collaborating to createcontent using the same application, an effective workflow can besupported using shared bins for video editing, or shared sessions foraudio editing. Editors collaborate directly with each other via a binservice, which may be hosted by a collaboration server on a local LAN orhosted remotely in the cloud. The editor is able turn bin sharing onwithin the application and the bin's metadata is replicated in a cloudaccount which can also be shared with other users. Once the bin isshared, one editor can push media to the system of another editor, orallow the remote system to pull the media locally over a P2P secureconnection. The user can either push the hi-res or the low-res and canpush full or partial clips and sequences.

In a manner similar to that discussed above in connection with theshared project workspace, team members may lock portions of thetimeline—either by time span, or by track type. In this situation, eacheditor only needs to have the essence corresponding to the portion beingedited. Since the native application data corresponding to the currentstate of the media project is of small size, it is possible to sharethis fully among the collaborating editing platforms, while onlypartially sharing the underlying essence. For example, the timelinesseen by two collaborating editors may be kept up-to-date even if theessence corresponding to the current sequence is not present. Indeed, acomplete bin of clips, sequences, and effect metadata may be shared.Thus there is a bifurcation in the way the metadata and itscorresponding media is shared. Metadata is shared either via apeer-to-peer connection, or via a server hosted in the cloud. Thereference copy of the metadata is stored in the server providing theshared bin service, e.g., in a cloud server. This helps ensure that themost recent version is available, even if an editing station is offline.Furthermore, the cloud copy of the metadata could be used in the eventthe user experiences a catastrophic loss on their local system resultingin the loss of sequence and bin metadata.

The essence corresponding to a work in progress being edited may beselectively pushed or pulled from within a clip or edited series ofclips. The editor may select (using in and out points) a portion of aclip or sequence and pull or push the media (either high orlow-resolution). The media is shared selectively over a peer to peerconnection or via the cloud server.

A diagrammatic screen shot 1602 of exemplary user interface for theCanvas collaborative workspace is shown in FIG. 16. The Canvas formattimeline is shown in window 1604, showing two video tracks and threeaudio tracks, each comprising multiple clips. Monitor window 1606 showsthe output of a Canvas format player. Links to native application dataare shown at 1608. Change notes are displayed in window 1610, and changehistory window 1612 lists the users, their applications, the projecttracks, and the date stamps corresponding to recent changes that havebeen checked in to the collaboration server. The UI may also display awindow showing links to source assets (not shown in the Figure).

In some situations, selective pulling or pushing of high resolutionmedia is performed. In one scenario, an editor has the full sequence inlow resolution, but needs the high resolution for a short span, in orderto read the text on a logo or to perform detailed work on a portion. Theability to push media to a collaborator's system is facilitated byproviding data on the available capacity of the receiving system. Thereceiving system may be set to allocate only a portion of its availablespace for pushed media. The available space dedicated to receiving mediapushed by other team members may be subject to a limit imposed by thetotal physical space on the receiving system, or by an account oruser-defined limit.

The various elements of the system hosting an application being used bya media project team member, or of a collaboration server or bin servicesystem, or other computer systems described herein may be implemented asa computer program using a general-purpose computer system. Such acomputer system typically includes a main unit connected to both anoutput device that displays information to a user and an input devicethat receives input from a user. The main unit generally includes aprocessor connected to a memory system via an interconnection mechanism.The input device and output device also are connected to the processorand memory system via the interconnection mechanism.

One or more output devices may be connected to the computer system.Example output devices include, but are not limited to, liquid crystaldisplays (LCD), plasma displays, various stereoscopic displays includingdisplays requiring viewer glasses and glasses-free displays, cathode raytubes, video projection systems and other video output devices,printers, devices for communicating over a low or high bandwidthnetwork, including network interface devices, cable modems, and storagedevices such as disk or tape. One or more input devices may be connectedto the computer system. Example input devices include, but are notlimited to, a keyboard, keypad, track ball, mouse, pen and tablet,touchscreen, camera, communication device, and data input devices. Theinvention is not limited to the particular input or output devices usedin combination with the computer system or to those described herein.

The computer system may be a general purpose computer system which isprogrammable using a computer programming language, a scripting languageor even assembly language. The computer system may also be speciallyprogrammed, special purpose hardware. In a general-purpose computersystem, the processor is typically a commercially available processor.The general-purpose computer also typically has an operating system,which controls the execution of other computer programs and providesscheduling, debugging, input/output control, accounting, compilation,storage assignment, data management and memory management, andcommunication control and related services. The computer system may beconnected to a local network and/or to a wide area network, such as theInternet. The connected network may transfer to and from the computersystem program instructions for execution on the computer, media datasuch as video data, still image data, or audio data, metadata, reviewand approval information for a media composition, media annotations, andother data.

A memory system typically includes a computer readable medium. Themedium may be volatile or nonvolatile, writeable or nonwriteable, and/orrewriteable or not rewriteable. A memory system typically stores data inbinary form. Such data may define an application program to be executedby the microprocessor, or information stored on the disk to be processedby the application program. The invention is not limited to a particularmemory system. Time-based media may be stored on and input frommagnetic, optical, or solid state drives, which may include an array oflocal or network attached disks.

A system such as described herein may be implemented in software orhardware or firmware, or a combination of the three. The variouscomponents of the system, either individually or in combination may beimplemented as one or more computer program products in which computerprogram instructions are stored on a computer readable storage mediumfor execution by a computer, or transferred to a computer system via aconnected local area or wide area network. The storage medium mayinclude one or more of solid state memory, magnetic media such as harddisk drives, and optical media, such as read only or read/write CDs andDVDs. The system may include a communication connection device such as anetwork interface that transmits data and receives data from acommunication medium, such as radio waves, signals carried by wires.Various steps of a process may be performed by a computer executing suchcomputer program instructions. The computer system may be amultiprocessor computer system or may include multiple computersconnected over a computer network. The components described herein maybe separate modules of a computer program, or may be separate computerprograms, which may be operable on separate computers. The data producedby these components may be stored in a memory system or transmittedbetween computer systems.

Having now described an example embodiment, it should be apparent tothose skilled in the art that the foregoing is merely illustrative andnot limiting, having been presented by way of example only. Numerousmodifications and other embodiments are within the scope of one ofordinary skill in the art and are contemplated as falling within thescope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. (canceled)
 2. A method comprising: at a firstsystem hosting a first media processing application with a display,wherein the first system is in data communication with a server hostingsoftware for collaborative media project editing, displaying a graphicaluser interface for collaborative editing of a media project, thegraphical user interface displaying: a timeline representation of acurrent state of the media project; a monitor window for playing back acanonical representation of the media project; links to nativeapplication data for a plurality of different media processingapplications used to edit the media project including the first mediaprocessing application; and in response to the first system receiving anedit performed by an editor using the first media processingapplication: generating and storing on the first system updated nativeapplication data for the first media processing application and updatinga displayed link in the graphical user interface to the nativeapplication data for the first media processing application to point tothe updated native application data; and generating and storing on thefirst system a canonical representation of the current state of themedia project.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising in responseto the first system receiving an edit performed by the editor using thefirst media processing application, adding to the graphical userinterface and storing on the first system data describing the editperformed by the editor using the first media processing application. 4.The method of claim 3, wherein the data describing the edit performed bythe editor using the first media processing application is generatedmanually by the editor using the first media processing application. 5.The method of claim 3, wherein the data describing the edit performed bythe editor using the first media processing application is generatedautomatically by the first media processing application.
 6. The methodof claim 2, wherein the server is in data communication with a pluralityof systems including a second system, each of the plurality of systemshosting a media processing application, and wherein each of theplurality of systems is in data communication with the server hostingsoftware for collaborative media project editing, wherein at least oneof the displayed links to native application data were received from asecond media processing application hosted on the second system.
 7. Themethod of claim 6, wherein the second media processing application is adifferent application from the first media processing application. 8.The method of claim 7, wherein the first media processing application isa non-linear video editor and the second media processing application isa digital audio workstation.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein thegraphical user interface further displays data describing editsperformed using a plurality of media processing applications hosted on aplurality of systems in data communication with the server hostingsoftware for collaborative media project editing.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the graphical user interface further displays a historyof changes made to the media project.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein the displayed history of changes includes, for each change of aplurality of changes displayed within the history of changes, a name ofa user performing the change and information specifying a mediaprocessing application used to perform the change.
 12. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the graphical user interface further displays links toa plurality of source assets that contribute to the media project. 13.The method of claim 1, wherein the canonical representation of the mediaproject is based on a subset of media project data models of a pluralityof media processing applications hosted on a plurality of systems indata communication with the server hosting software for collaborativemedia project editing.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein, for eachmedia processing application of the plurality of media processingapplications hosted on a plurality of systems in data communication withthe server hosting software for collaborative media project editing: auser of the media processing application is able to edit the mediaproject using native application data of the media processingapplication, thereby creating an updated version of the nativeapplication data for the media project; and the media processingapplication is able to convert the updated version of the nativeapplication data of the media project into a corresponding updatedversion of the canonical representation of the media project.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of media processingapplications is able to send the updated version of the canonicalrepresentation to the server hosting software for collaborative mediaproject editing, and the first system is able to receive the updatedversion of the canonical representation, and play back the updatedversion of the canonical representation in the monitor window.
 16. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the graphical user interface further displaysa bin that shows media resources available to the media project, whereinthe bin is shared with a second user of a second media processingapplication hosted on a second system in data communication with theserver hosting software for collaborative media project and includesmedia resources added to the bin by the first user and by the seconduser.
 17. A computer program product comprising: a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium with computer program instructionsencoded thereon, wherein the computer program instructions, whenprocessed by a first system, instruct the first system to perform amethod comprising: hosting a first media processing application with adisplay, wherein the first system is in data communication with a serverhosting software for collaborative media project editing, displaying agraphical user interface for collaborative editing of a media project,the graphical user interface displaying: a timeline representation of acurrent state of the media project; a monitor window for playing back acanonical representation of the media project; links to nativeapplication data for a plurality of different media processingapplications used to edit the media project including the first mediaprocessing application; and in response to the first system receiving anedit performed by an editor using the first media processingapplication: generating and storing on the first system updated nativeapplication data for the first media processing application and updatinga displayed link in the graphical user interface to the nativeapplication data for the first media processing application to point tothe updated native application data; and generating and storing on thefirst system a canonical representation of the current state of themedia project.
 18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein theserver is in data communication with a plurality of systems including asecond system, each of the plurality of systems hosting a mediaprocessing application, and wherein each of the plurality of systems isin data communication with the server hosting software for collaborativemedia project editing, wherein at least one of the displayed links tonative application data were received from a second media processingapplication hosted on the second system.
 19. The computer programproduct of claim 17, wherein the canonical representation of the mediaproject is based on a subset of media project data models of a pluralityof media processing applications hosted on a plurality of systems indata communication with the server hosting software for collaborativemedia project editing.
 20. The computer program product of claim 19,wherein, for each media processing application of the plurality of mediaprocessing applications hosted on a plurality of systems in datacommunication with the server hosting software for collaborative mediaproject editing: a user of the media processing application is able toedit the media project in a native representation using a data model ofthe media processing application, thereby creating an updated version ofthe media project in the native representation; and the media processingapplication is able to convert the updated version of the nativerepresentation of the media project into a corresponding updated versionof the canonical representation of the media project.